The Crowded Creations 2017 Holiday Gift Guide

If you find yourself reading this, you already know: it’s rough sledding out there for gift givers. In today’s “Buy Now With 1-Click” world, easy impulse purchases have decimated once-healthy holiday wish lists. Meanwhile, the rise of streaming services like Netflix have cut off our supply of easy last-minute gift staples like CDs and DVDs (much to the chagrin of Best Buy). But even with all of those forces working against you, there is one last bastion of hope in this new gift giving world: Kickstarter.

Thousands of innovative new products launch each year on Kickstarter, but after their initial crowdfunding campaign wraps up they often find themselves at the bottom of the retail totem pole, where they are overshadowed by a slew of boring yet better selling products. To help you find the diamonds in the rough we spent the last few days combing through the archives of Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites to find 50 of the most interesting gift ideas for our annual holiday gift guide.

Like everything else we feature here on Crowded Creations, each of the products in this holiday gift guide first launched on the heels of a successful crowdfunding campaign. But unlike the Kickstarter and IndieGoGo backers that pre-purchased these innovative goods, you don’t have to wait months to get your hands on them – each one can be purchased immediately Amazon with free two-day shipping. So skip the craziness and long lines at the mall and spend the extra gas money on something nice for yourself!

Oh yeah, and since we are in holiday gift giving spirit, we’re giving away a few of our favorite Kickstarted gift ideas to some lucky readers. Be sure to sign up for each giveaway as you scroll past it while browsing the entire list.

Please note: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click through and purchase any of these products, I may receive a a small percentage of the sales price at no extra cost to you.

Holiday Gift Guide: Stocking Stuffers

Small Gifts With Equally Small Price Tags

Fidget Cube

2017 may have been the year of the fidget spinner, but 2016 belonged to the Fidget Cube. Described as “an unusually addicting, high-quality desk toy designed to help you focus,” the Fidget Cube’s six sides of distraction will keep the antsy fidgeters in your life occupied for hours.

KeySmart Keychain Organizer

The perfect gift for the noisy key jinglers in your life. KeySmart organizes messy keychains by packing all of your keys into a neat, poke-free holder. Pair it with the three other stocking stuffers shared below for a complete keychain gift set!

Tile Bluetooth Tracker

Tile is a tiny bluetooth tracker with an easy-to-use app to help you find everyday items in seconds. The Tile works both ways, so if you have your tile but can’t find your phone, Tile can make your phone ring, even with it’s on silent! Tile’s Slim version slides into wallets or sticks on to laptops while the Mate’s smaller but thicker tracker is perfect for keychains.

MyKee Multi-tool

Whereas the KeySmart adds some organization to a keychain, MyKee adds functionality. This 18-in-1 multi-tool (which fits easily on the KeySmart) packs a blade, bottle opener, and hex set into a 0.185 ounce key.

inCharge Keychain Phone Charger

Tired of lending your phone charger to a certain somebody who never returns it? Kill two birds with one gift by giving them a inCharge keychain phone charger! This ultra portable USB charging cable comes in both lightning (Apple) and microUSB (Android) versions.

Holiday Gift Guide: Gift Ideas For Your “Nice List”

Splurge-Worthy Gift Ideas For Your Favorite People

Boosted Board

Zip around at speeds of up to 22 MPH on the world’s most popular electric skateboard. It’s light enough to carry anywhere and with a 12 mile battery range it’s the perfect solution for urban commuters who want to zip through traffic on the way to and from work.

Oculus Rift + Touch VR System

Virtual reality is the next big thing in gaming and Oculus stands above the competition. This complete system comes with the Rift headset, touch controllers, and low-latency tracking sensors to immerse you in the Rift’s six included VR game titles.

Opal Nugget Ice Maker

Nugget ice is the best ice. That’s not debatable. But until now it’s been almost impossible to make in home freezers. Opal changes that, producing a pound of the crunchy and chewy stuff in under an hour.

Solo Stove Bonfire

Solo Stove Bonfire is an efficient stainless steel fire pit that produces almost no smoke. The double wall design leads to a secondary combustion that burns logs cleanly, with no half-burnt logs left behind after the fire dies down.

Eight Sleep Tracker

Eight is smart mattress cover that tracks sleep and controls temperature to help you sleep better, longer. Built-in heaters let you set your ideal temperature for your side of the bed, while sensors inside Eight determine when you are awake or asleep and in different stages of sleep. And with built in wifi, you can sync Eight with your other smart devices to brew a fresh pot of coffee when you start stirring in the morning or blast heavy metal when you hit the snooze a few too many times.

Gift Ideas For Mom & Dad

New twists on traditional (and boring) gifts

Socks: Freaker Feet

Statement socks are the new power ties and these “one size fits most” socks are sure to spark some fun conversations. Freaker Feet’s 100% american-made socks have hundreds of different designs including funny puns, college sports teams, state flags, and pop culture characters. Grab a pair for the white-sock types in your life.

Books: Bookniture

Bookniture may look like your standard hardbound book when folded up on a bookshelf, but once fully opened, this cylindrical origami furniture can withstand a half ton of weight. Perfect for an impromptu stool or footrest.

Candle: Playbulb LED Smart Candle

They might not smell as good as those Yankee Candles filling up your mom’s bedroom, but these LED “candles” will last a lot longer. Playbulb can be set to display millions of different colors using your smartphone or by blowing it on/off and giving it a quick shake. And if you still long for regular candle light, Playbulb has a built-in tealight candle holder in its base.

Pen: Neo N2 Smart Pen

This nifty little pen digitizes anything it writes on paper, storing handwritten or transcribed notes in the cloud. Neo N2 users can also record and playback audio notes that are synced to pen strokes.

Bifold Wallet: Slimfold Micro

If your dad is still carrying around a brick of a bifold in his back pocket, this minimal front pocket wallet will change his life. Made from a durable waterproof material, Slimfold Micro can still easily store up to 8 cards and cash while folding 2-3 times thinner than leather wallets.

Slimfold raised $169,300 on Kickstarter in 2014.

Buy one now for just$45.00on Amazon or enter below to win one for free!

Holiday Gift Guide For Children

Fun & Educational Gift Ideas For Smart & Creative Kids

Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls

“Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls” is a children’s book packed with 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world.

Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls raised $675,614 for their first book on Kickstarter in 2016 and another $866,193 in 2017 for their Volume 2.

Strawbees Inventor Builder Kit

Strawbees is a prototyping toy kit for young makers. This 400-piece kit of straws and cardboard connectors let children build huge mechanical objects, either from the included designs or from their own mind.

Gift Ideas For Family Game Night (Maybe)

Popular kid-friendly and not-so-kid-friendly card games

Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens is a “highly-strategic, kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette.” This family friendly 56-card party game was the most backed project in Kickstarter history and features illustrations by popular cartoonist The Oatmeal.

Bears vs Babies

From the creators of Exploding Kittens, Bears vs. Babies is a family-friendly strategic party game that takes 20 minutes to play. the 107 cards, playmat and rulebook come inside a furry box with “grooming kit sold separately.”

Cards Against Humanity

This NSFW Apples-to-Apples style card game became a worldwide phenomenon after it launched on Kickstarter way back in 2011. While you can still buy the original starter pack for just$25.00on Amazon, check out some of the more recent expansion packs to keep things fresh.

Norlan Whisky Glass

Elevate your dram of whisky with Norlan, a hand-blown double-walled snifter glass that was engineered to be the perfect whisky drinking vessel. The round outer glass with a concave rim feels sturdy in your hand and good on your lip, while the more traditional snifter-like inner wall with protruding spikes aerates your spirit and elevates its aromatics.

Clear Ice Ball Maker by Polar

There’s nothing worse than finishing off a tasty cocktail with one final watered-down sip. Next time use one of these slower melting 2.5 inch ice balls in your glass and take your time enjoying your drink.

Goverre Wine Glass

Take wine on the go with Goverre, a travel wine glass made from durable, dishwasher safe, and (most importantly) discreet white glass. The glass construction preserves the taste and integrity of the wine while Goverre’s spill-proof drink-through lid and silicon sleeve help prevent red wine disasters.

Trinken Stealth Koozie

This one is for the friends in your life with one too many Open Container tickets. Trinken Lid snaps on top of a standard 12 ounce can of beer, allowing it to then be hidden inside a standard size coffee cup, such as the collapsible cup that is included with your purchase or all of those Starbucks cups piling up in your friend’s back seat.

Gift Ideas For Aspiring Home Chefs

This “set it and forget it” smart indoor herb garden takes all of the work out of growing fresh herbs in your kitchen. Click & Grow uses soil sensors to control its built-in LED grow lights and irrigation system, ensuring your plants enjoy optimal growing conditions. Click & Grow comes with three basil plants to get you started, but the company sells a variety of other seed pods including kitchen staples like thyme, parsley, and mint.

Foodie Dice

Tired of asking “what do you want for dinner tonight?” Let the luck of the draw decide for you with these ingredient-centric set of dice. Foodie Dice includes 5 primary dice (cooking method, protein, grain/carb, herb, bonus ingredient) and 4 seasonal veggie dice to come up with endless options to put on your plate tonight.

Mason To Go Masonable Lids

Once you’ve cooked up something tasty in the kitchen, Mason To Go Mason Jar Lids provide you with an easy and sustainable way to take your food on the go. These double sided lids let you attach mason jars to both sides, perfect for salad/dressing and yogurt/granola combos!

Holiday Gift Guide: For The Office

Rocketbook Everlast

We are moving to a paperless world, but there will always be a place for handwritten notes. With Rocketbook Everlast you get the best of both worlds. So long as you use a (included) Pilot Frixion pen, Rocketbook can be used and reused forever as the pages wipe clean with a damp cloth. Before you wipe your pages though, blast your notes to the cloud using the Rocketbook smartphone app.

Autonomous SmartDesk

The standing desk trend is still going strong. For those still on the fence about standing all day, the Autonomous SmartDesk is a sit-to-stand desk powered by a silent high performance motor. While they sell complete desks on Amazon, this well-reviewed desk frame lets you pick your ideal desktop to spend your working hours staring at.

The Autonomous Sit To Stand Desk raised $285,422 on Kickstarter in May of 2015.

Cubii Under Desk Eliptical

Don’t feel shamed if you aren’t standing at work – desk-standers don’t have a monopoly on healthier habits. Desk-sitters can get in some easy and ergonomic exercise while seated on the Cubii under desk elliptical. And you can sync it with your FitBit and/or HealtKit to get credit for all of those extra steps!

Flyte Levitating LED Bulb

Flyte will add some stylish lighting that is sure to inspire “lightbulb moments” in the office with their levitating LED bulb. It looks like science fiction to us, but Flyte uses magnets and induction to achieve this wirelessly lit piece of functional desk art.

Gift Ideas For Travelers

For the road warriors in your life.

MOGIC Universal Travel Power Strip

MOGICS Donut is a smaller-than-a-donut universal power strip with seven (count em, 7!) outlets. The Donut’s unique ring design prevents plugs from getting crowded, so you can make full use of the five three-pronged and two USB outlets. Donut becomes even more valuable when you travel internationally, as it comes with a matching universal travel adapter.

Luminoodle

Don’t let a setting sun ruin your outdoor fun. The Luminoodle LED Light Rope can be plugged into any USB power source (like the ones we share further below) and provides between 180 lumens (5 foot rope) and 360 lumens (10 foot rope) of night brightening light. Each LED light rope comes with noodle ties and magnetic loops so you can hang it on your tent, strap it to your bike, or clip it anywhere that needs some illumination.

The Luminoodle raised $388,464 on Kickstarter in October 2015.

Buy one now for just$16.99on Amazon or enter below to win one for free!

Everyday Messenger

Everyday Messenger was designed specifically for adventurers, particularly those with a penchant for photography. While the Everyday Messenger can hold a DSLR with 3 lenses in its main compartment while simultaneously holding a laptop in its rear pocket, this isn’t just a camera bag. The weatherproof bag can be endlessly adjusted to provide internal storage for whatever you need to cram into it.

Everyday Messenger raised close to $5 million dollars on Kickstarter in 2015!

Nomatic 40L Travel Bag

A lot of innovative luggage solutions have been crowdfunded over the years on Kickstarter, but the Nomatic stands above the rest, promising to be “the most functional travel bag ever”. Among other features, this TSA-compliant 40 liter bag is made from waterproof tarpaulin, has built in laptop and tablet pockets, and even has a separate laundry bag to keep your smells segregated. Watch the full video on Amazon to get a better sense of how awesome this bag is.

Holiday Gift Guide For Pets

Don’t forget your furry friends this holiday season.

PetCube Bites

Watch your dog or cat from afar in 1080p with this wide angle pet camera. If you think they are feeling lonely, tell them you miss them via two way audio or send them a treat with the push of a button.

PDX Licki Cat Brush

For cats, grooming is a form of social bonding but as humans, we are “left out of the intimate licking ritual.” To make lovable licks enjoyable for both cat and owner, try a LICKI, a silicone mouthpiece that lets you lick your cat without all the hairballs. Because why not?

Luuup Cat Litter Box

The Luuup litter box features an innovative three tray sifting system to make cleaning up after your cat quick and easy. Luuup features a cat-friendly open top design with easy to clean antimicrobial material.

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